When Vickie Wang, an emerging performer, steps onto her platform in the Big Apple, she is not only thinking about which jokes to deliver. Additionally, she carefully considers what subjects to steer clear of. “I refrain from openly criticizing the administration,” she explained. Or if she does, she ensures it isn't captured for online platforms. “I'd never publicly share material in which I openly disparage authorities … I think it's a habit from China.”
Wang, 39, resided in the Chinese metropolis for nearly a decade, departing in that year. In 2025, she moved to the US. When she got there, she embarked on a frenzy of “overindulging on freedom,” attending lectures, demonstrations, and delving into the city's public library.
However in the year since the president was elected for the second time, there's been a noticeable shift in the environment, she notes. “In China, I knew where the line was, whereas here I find myself on shifting sands.”
Her fears reflect a new political reality in America which many Chinese, or people with experience in the country, find disturbingly similar. Opponents are ostracised. The president demands total allegiance. Journalists are targeted. Establishments come under fire.
The president has not been shy regarding his respect for Xi Jinping, the nation's authoritarian figure. He has described Xi as a “great guy”. When they reached a temporary truce in the trade war recently, the bonhomie between the two leaders of nations with vastly different governance models was evident. Following years of hope in America that closer ties with the East could assist the rising power become more open, in the current administration, it appears that America is being pulled in China's path, rather than vice versa.
“America is undergoing an era of cultural revolution,” said a constitutional law expert, a professor at Peking University. “The president, Trump, is trying to rally the masses in order to marginalize or undermine the elite … similar to events in China half a century ago.”
Since Trump unleashed what's termed a government streamlining body, or Doge, on the Washington bureaucracy early on in office, numerous Chinese observers see US politics via the perspective of the Cultural Revolution. Whether it is the mobilisation of the youth to execute the leader’s will, or purging organizations of perceived enemies, Trump as viewed from China has delivered disorder reminiscent of Mao to America, though absent the same levels of violence.
However after the upheaval of the early months under Trump subsided, an unfamiliar, distinct type of political atmosphere has settled in the US, which in different ways seems familiar to many Chinese people.
‘The Lighthouse Has Become Less Bright’
The most profound parallel between the US today and the East is the suppression on free speech.
A former police officer, now a CCP dissenter, ended up in a controversy this year, similar to what he once faced in his homeland. He resided in the US for several years, after escaping China because of harassment from officials.
Last fall, following the passing of Charlie Kirk, he posted that the individual was a “scumbag”. Similar to others nationwide – many of whom were fired for expressing criticism about Kirk – Deng faced significant backlash. His family was doxed and he faced allegations of being a Chinese spy attempting to divide the US.
“That event was a real shock. I never imagined such a thing would occur in America – something that typically happens in an authoritarian country,” he commented.
Deng’s pile on came from online peers, rather than the government, but such of public monitoring also has parallels with the East.
“Regarding targeting those who disagree and monitoring open discourse about issues deemed controversial … That’s starting to emerge here,” noted an academic, a scholar at a US university. “That’s something that you see in the East today as too,” she added, adding that there were now fears in America of students reporting on educators, a form of surveillance that has been encouraged by the CCP.
The professor, the Peking University law professor, said that liberal Chinese intellectuals such as him used to look to America for political inspiration, in part because openly discussing internal affairs in the country is dangerous. But now, “The US isn't some kind of ideal for progressive Chinese. The US's reputation has declined across the board.”
“We used to see the US as the beacon of democratic governance, but after Trump took power, that guide appears less luminous”.
Progressive Chinese, who are often, at least in private, critical of China’s political system, are increasingly finding it more acceptable than the US's, Zhang said. “It’s sort of difficult to acknowledge this reality … but post-COVID, authorities seems to be doing the right thing in environmental protection and promoting EVs and tech investment,” Zhang said, while “Western nations, as represented by America, seems to be declining.”
The Trump administration’s purchase of shares in US companies has prompted parallels with China, where the distinction between state and private industry is often blurred.
On Monday, authorities announced it will take an investor in a startup focused on mineral refinement, after taking similar stakes in other companies deemed vital to national security. The deals have made some investors concerned that the US is entering a new era of government meddling in the private sector.
Yet, there remain significant distinctions between the US under Trump and the East. Last month, several news organisations among others refused to sign to a defense department rule that demanded they only report on approved information. American judiciary have blocked or reversed numerous presidential measures, something that is impossible in China’s CCP-controlled judiciary.
An analyst, who established of a consulting firm, a China-focused advisory firm, said: “America might face the worst crisis of its history, orders of magnitudes worse than it is now, and it will still be freer, more open, and more liberal than the East under its leader.”
The professor observes that while many intellectuals in China were surprised to see American colleges capitulate to government demands regarding DEI policies and open discourse on university grounds, in the East, the top universities are publicly controlled by default. Administrators, which are selected by the government, “have no liberty refuse. They dare not defy orders.”
Still, Americans are beginning to adopt measures previously associated with more authoritarian countries. An academic at an American college who was previously vocal on US-China issues declined to be interviewed for this article. He said: “Honestly, I am scared of suppression in the US: I genuinely feel less afraid to criticise Xi now than say anything bad
